COC rejects suggestion it open to Russia athlete pathway to Paris 2024

The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) said it supports a ban on athletes from Russia and Belarus competing in the 2024 Paris Summer Games so long as the invasion of Ukraine continues, challenging a call from a group of retired Olympians to end support for their participation.

The group, which included many of Canada's greatest Olympians such as ice dancer Tessa Virtue, hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser and cross-country skier Beckie Scott, voiced their concerns in a letter to the COC and on Wednesday in a segment on CBC, the country's national broadcaster.

"Several prominent athletes are calling on the Canadian Olympic Committee to support a ban of athletes from Russia and Belarus competing in Paris 2024 while the invasion is ongoing," the COC said in a statement on Thursday.

"Our position, consistent over the past year, is that we support the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes from international sport while the invasion is ongoing."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is facing a mounting backlash after setting out a path last month for Russian and Belarusian athletes to qualify for the Olympics and to compete as neutrals, with no flags or anthems.

Athletes from those countries were banned from many international competitions after Russia launched what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine last year, but some international federations are now allowing them back following the IOC guidance.

Canada was among 35 countries that released a joint statement in February calling on the IOC to clarify the definition of "neutrality" and pledging their support for banning Russians and Belarusians from international competitions.

"We firmly believe that, given there has been no change in the situation